KEY POINTS:
Given the potential value in rupees of a fit and firing Andrew Flintoff, the news from Old Trafford as Lancashire and England's biggest drawcard prepares to test the success of his latest ankle operation may be interpreted as good, or bad.
In the short term, on both domestic and home international fronts, it is unquestionably the former.
Six months after his left ankle went under the surgeon's knife for the fourth time, following his breakdown in the Twenty20 World Cup last September, the 30-year-old all-rounder believes he is close to his physical best and ready to recapture the form that made him England's talisman in the Ashes-winning summer of 2005.
Should his assessment be proved accurate, his return to the Test side for this year's first encounter with New Zealand at Lord's on May 15 can be taken as read. By then it may also be clear just how far the cash-rich Indian Premier League will go to tempt him into a potentially difficult choice.
"It has been mentioned," he said, making no attempt to conceal a wry smile. "But I've got a lot on my plate at the moment. I want to get back on the field for Lancashire and then I want to play for England again."
- INDEPENDENT
